Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about West Brookfield (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for West Brookfield. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Name Variations for West Brookfield ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Brookfield: W. Brookfield
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Brookfield. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Brookfield.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
West Brookfield is located in Madison County.
To see how the shape of New York's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Madison County: Chenango, Cortland, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego & Otsego.
Below are the counties that are near West Brookfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Brookfield:
- Madison County (The home county of West Brookfield)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Brookfield, with the one closest to West Brookfield listed first.
- South Hamilton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- South Hamilton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hamilton
- East Hamilton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- East Hamilton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hamilton
- Brookfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hamilton Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hamilton Center is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton Center
- Hamilton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Madison
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Earlville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Randallsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Randallsville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randallsville
- Bouckville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pecksport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pecksport is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecksport
- Solsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Woods
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Woods is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Woods
- Morrisville Station
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Morrisville Station is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville Station
- Chenango County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Brookfield, with the one closest to West Brookfield listed first.
- Button City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Button City is located in Chenango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Button City
- Columbus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Columbus is located in Chenango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Sherburne
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Smyrna
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Berlin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- North Norwich
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Norwich is located in Chenango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Norwich
- Plymouth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver Meadow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver Meadow is located in Chenango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Meadow
- Otselic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Otselic is located in Chenango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otselic
- Kirk
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Kirk is located in Chenango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
- Otselic Center
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Otselic Center is located in Chenango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otselic Center
- Norwich
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- South Otselic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Herkimer County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Brookfield, with the one closest to West Brookfield listed first.
- West Winfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chepachet
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chepachet is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chepachet
- Cedarville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cedarville is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Norwich Corners
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Norwich Corners is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwich Corners
- Millers Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Millers Mills is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers Mills
- South Columbia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- South Columbia is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Columbia
- Cullen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cullen is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen
- Corrado Corners
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Corrado Corners is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corrado Corners
- Frankfort
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ilion
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Mohawk
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Herkimer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Edicks
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Edicks is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edicks
- Oneida County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Brookfield, with the one closest to West Brookfield listed first.
- Stockwell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Stockwell is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockwell
- Sangerfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Waterville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Oriskany Falls
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Bridgewater
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- North Bridgewater
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- North Bridgewater is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bridgewater
- Pine Village Estates
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Village Estates is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Village Estates
- Cassville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Augusta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Augusta is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Augusta
- Clayville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Paris
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Paris is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Sauquoit
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clinton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Onondaga County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Brookfield, with the one closest to West Brookfield listed first.
- Delphi Falls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pompey Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pompey Center is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pompey Center
- Fabius
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Eagle Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Eagle Village is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Village
- Watervale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Watervale is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watervale
- Otsego County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Brookfield, with the one closest to West Brookfield listed first.
- South Edmeston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- South Edmeston is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Edmeston
- Plainfield Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Plainfield Center is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield Center
- Edmeston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Burlington Flats
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Pittsfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Pittsfield is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
- West Burlington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Garrattsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Patent
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Patent is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patent
- Snowdon
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Snowdon is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowdon
- Welcome
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Welcome is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
- Brighton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Brighton is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Morris
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hartwick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Brookfield, see our County-by-County Page for West Brookfield.
Cemeteries Near West Brookfield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Brookfield.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for West Brookfield - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Brookfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Brookfield, with the one closest to West Brookfield listed first.
- Faulkner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Quaker Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Graham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- North Brookfield Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Giles Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lamb Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Waterman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Cole Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hamilton Center Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Tarrytown Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Palmer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Brookfield Rural Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (461 more) ...
- Gorton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Poolville Rural Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Howard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>
While we didn't find West Brookfield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Brookfield.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Brookfield, with the one closest to West Brookfield listed first.
- South Hamilton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- South Hamilton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hamilton
- North Brookfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- North Brookfield is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brookfield
- Hubbardsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- East Hamilton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- East Hamilton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hamilton
- Brookfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Stockwell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Stockwell is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockwell
- Poolville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Poolville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poolville
- Tallette
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Tallette is located in Chenango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallette
- South Brookfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- South Brookfield is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Brookfield
- West Edmeston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- West Edmeston is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Edmeston
- Leonardsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Sangerfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Hamilton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Earlville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Columbus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Columbus is located in Chenango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Brookfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Brookfield.
Newspapers Published in West Brookfield ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 98 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Brookfield.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Brookfield, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Brookfield.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to West Brookfield:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chenango County
- Herkimer County
- Oneida County
- Onondaga County
- Otsego County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New York
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about West Brookfield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Brookfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |